OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

Seattle – Starbucks reportedly plans to expand a pilot of an evening alcohol and “light bites” menu that includes wine to thousands of stores nationwide. According to Bloomberg, Starbucks executives said the evening food and drink offerings, currently provided in about 40 test stores, will be rolled out during the next several years.

New York – IBM Inc. has introduced new software and services to help organizations use Big Data and Analytics to address fraud and financial crimes. IBM launched its “Smarter counter fraud” initiative, drawing on the expertise and innovation from more than 500 fraud consulting experts, 290 fraud-related research patents and IBM’s Big Data and analytics software and services capabilities.

Washington, D.C. – President Obama reportedly wants to raise the maximum salary threshold for overtime eligibility for salaried employees. According to Reuters, Obama has directed the Labor Department to raise the current maximum salary level of $455 per week, which covers about 12% of all hourly employees.

Purchase, N.Y. -- As part of the 2013 launch of a commitment to responsible retailing, the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC is making efforts that reduce waste in stores and improve efficiencies in energy uses in both new and existing stores.

By 2020, the company has set a goal of getting to "zero waste," diverting 90% of waste going to landfills and incinerations through the expansion of its organic recycling program and new opportunities for recycling cardboard, plastic, paper, and single stream recycling.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Starting Wednesday, March 26, Wal-Mart customers will be able to trade in their video games and apply the value immediately toward the purchase of anything sold at Walmart and Sam’s Club, both in stores and online. The traded-in games will then be sent to be refurbished and made available for purchase in like-new condition at a reduced price.

The program will work as follows:

• Customers bring their working video games, in the original packaging, to the electronics department.

Seattle – WhitePages is rolling out the WhitePages Pro Identity Score product, which is designed to help business users quickly validate customer identities to accelerate their order flow, as well as detect fake identities that warrant flagging the transaction. WhitePages Pro provides business users with access to a database of consumer contact information.

New York – Barnes & Noble subsidiary Nook Media LLC, is making its Nook Press self-publishing platform available to authors and publishers in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Authors and publishers in these countries can now upload and start selling their books in these territories through Nook devices and free Nook reading apps, allowing them to reach millions of Nook customers around the globe.

New York -- Organizational, operational and technology challenges are hampering retailers' efforts to meet customers' demand for a seamless shopping experience across all channels and touchpoints. According to a new research study from Accenture and Hybris Software, retailers view omni-channel maturity as a key brand differentiator for their companies, and improving their ability to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience across all channels as a top priority.